Matthew 8–9

Jesus Heals a Man

8When Jesus came down from the hill, large crowds followed him. ²Then a man suffering from a dreaded skin disease came to him, knelt down before him, and said, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean.”^f

³Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. “I do want to,” he answered. “Be clean!” At once the man was healed of his disease. ^4*Then Jesus said to him, “Listen! Don’t tell anyone, but go straight to the priest and let him examine you; then in order to prove to everyone that you are cured, offer the sacrifice that Moses ordered.”

Jesus Heals a Roman Officer’s Servant

⁵When Jesus entered Capernaum, a Roman officer met him and begged for help: ⁶“Sir, my servant is sick in bed at home, unable to move and suffering terribly.”

⁷“I will go and make him well,” Jesus said. ⁸“Oh no, sir,” answered the officer. “I do not deserve to have you come into my house. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. ⁹I, too, am a man under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

¹⁰When Jesus heard this, he was surprised and said to the people following him, “I tell you, I have never found anyone in Israel with faith like this. ^11*I assure you that many will come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of heaven. ^12*But those who should be in the Kingdom will be thrown out into the darkness, where they will cry and grind their teeth.” ¹³Then Jesus said to the officer, “Go home, and what you believe will be done for you.”

And the officer’s servant was healed that very moment.

Jesus Heals Many People

¹⁴Jesus went to Peter’s home, and there he saw Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever. ¹⁵He touched her hand; the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

¹⁶When evening came, people brought to Jesus many who had demons in them. Jesus drove out the evil spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. ^17*He did this to make what the prophet Isaiah had said come true, “He himself took our sickness and carried away our diseases.”

The Would-be Followers of Jesus

¹⁸When Jesus noticed the crowd round him, he ordered his disciples to go to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹A teacher of the Law came to him. “Teacher,” he said, “I am ready to go with you wherever you go.”

²⁰Jesus answered him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lie down and rest.”

²¹Another man, who was a disciple, said, “Sir, first let me go back and bury my father.”

²²“Follow me,” Jesus answered, “and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

²³Jesus got into a boat, and his disciples went with him. ²⁴Suddenly a fierce storm hit the lake, and the boat was in danger of sinking. But Jesus was asleep. ²⁵The disciples went to him and woke him up. “Save us, Lord!” they said. “We are about to die!”

²⁶“Why are you so frightened?” Jesus answered. “How little faith you have!” Then he got up and ordered the winds and the waves to stop, and there was a great calm.

²⁷Everyone was amazed. “What kind of man is this?” they said. “Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons

²⁸When Jesus came to the territory of Gadara on the other side of the lake, he was met by two men who came out of the burial caves there. These men had demons in them and were so fierce that no one dared travel on that road. ²⁹At once they screamed, “What do you want with us, you Son of God? Have you come to punish us before the right time?”

³⁰Not far away there was a large herd of pigs feeding. ³¹So the demons begged Jesus, “If you are going to drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”

³²“Go,” Jesus told them; so they left and went off into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the side of the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

³³The men who had been taking care of the pigs ran away and went into the town, where they told the whole story and what had happened to the men with the demons. ³⁴So everyone from the town went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their territory.

Jesus Heals a Paralysed Man

9Jesus got into the boat and went back across the lake to his own town,^{g 2}where some people brought to him a paralysed man, lying on a bed. When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the paralysed man, “Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven.”

³Then some teachers of the Law said to themselves, “This man is speaking blasphemy!”

⁴Jesus perceived what they were thinking, so he said, “Why are you thinking such evil things? ⁵Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralysed man, “Get up, pick up your bed, and go home!”

⁷The man got up and went home. ⁸When the people saw it, they were afraid, and praised God for giving such authority to people.

Jesus Calls Matthew

⁹Jesus left that place, and as he walked along, he saw a tax collector, named Matthew, sitting in his office. He said to him, “Follow me.”

Matthew got up and followed him.

^10*While Jesus was having a meal in Matthew’s house,^h many tax collectors and other outcasts came and joined Jesus and his disciples at the table. ^11*Some Pharisees saw this and asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such people?”

¹²Jesus heard them and answered, “People who are well do not need a doctor, but only those who are sick. ^13*Go and find out what is meant by the scripture that says: ‘It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices.’ I have not come to call respectable people, but outcasts.”

The Question about Fasting

¹⁴Then the followers of John the Baptist came to Jesus, asking, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast at all?”

¹⁵Jesus answered, “Do you expect the guests at a wedding party to be sad as long as the bridegroom is with them? Of course not! But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

¹⁶“No one patches up an old coat with a piece of new cloth, for the new patch will shrink and make an even bigger hole in the coat. ¹⁷Nor does anyone pour new wine into used wineskins, for the skins will burst, the wine will pour out, and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins, and both will keep in good condition.”

The Official’s Daughter and the Woman Who Touched Jesus’ Cloak

¹⁸While Jesus was saying this, a Jewish official came to him, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and place your hands on her, and she will live.”

¹⁹So Jesus got up and followed him, and his disciples went along with him.

²⁰A woman who had suffered from severe bleeding for twelve years came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak. ²¹She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will get well.”

²²Jesus turned round and saw her, and said, “Courage, my daughter! Your faith has made you well.” At that very moment the woman became well.

²³Then Jesus went into the official’s house. When he saw the musicians for the funeral and the people all stirred up, ²⁴he said, “Get out, everybody! The little girl is not dead—she is only sleeping!” Then they all laughed at him. ²⁵But as soon as the people had been put out, Jesus went into the girl’s room and took hold of her hand, and she got up. ²⁶The news about this spread all over that part of the country.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

²⁷Jesus left that place, and as he walked along, two blind men started following him. “Take pity on us, Son of David!” they shouted.

²⁸When Jesus had gone indoors, the two blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I can heal you?”

“Yes, sir!” they answered.

²⁹Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Let it happen, then, just as you believe!”- ³⁰and their sight was restored. Jesus spoke sternly to them, “Don’t tell this to anyone!”

³¹But they left and spread the news about Jesus all over that part of the country.

Jesus Heals a Dumb Man

³²As the men were leaving, some people brought to Jesus a man who could not talk because he had a demon. ³³But as soon as the demon was driven out, the man started talking, and everyone was amazed. “We have never seen anything like this in Israel!” they exclaimed.

^34*But the Pharisees said, “It is the chief of the demons who gives Jesus the power to drive out demons.”

Jesus Has Pity for the People

^35*Jesus went round visiting all the towns and villages. He taught in the synagogues, preached the Good News about the Kingdom, and healed people with every kind of disease and sickness. ^36*As he saw the crowds, his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were worried and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ^37*So he said to his disciples, “The harvest is large, but there are few workers to gather it in. ^38*Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest.”